Business

Bookkeepers are an important part of any business. We’d go so far as to say they could help make or break your company. Making sure you take the time to hire the right person for the job is important.

So, just how do you find the right bookkeeping services Sydney CBD professionals are offering?

Follow the below tips for advice.

1. Efficient, Organised and Process-Driven

The right bookkeeper for you is one that understands your industry, your requirements and your business processes so they can get stuck into the task at hand. They make sure your processes are streamlined, as well as theirs, to provide timely reporting and meet necessary deadlines.

The right bookkeeper will be dedicated to the financial success of your business, have an eye for detail and care about keeping your books error free and current.

2. Trust and Ethics

Both you and the bookkeeper need to be comfortable with each other, so you can build a trustworthy professional relationship. It’s important that you give your bookkeeper all the right information, so they can keep accurate records for you.

However, you should also make sure that your business is protected. For example, your bookkeeper should never need access to the company’s bank accounts. They can certainly prepare a supplier payment file, but it is you as the business owner that should process payments.

What’s more, whenever new suppliers are created, there ought to be checks in place to ensure the account being paid is the real deal and that the bills are legitimate.

3. Technical Know-How

Current software knowledge is essential. Bookkeepers who know how to use online accounting software are better able to automate a wide range of processes and reduce time spent on data entry. Further, cloud-based systems help your bookkeeper keep your business’s accounts up to date and it lets you identify any issues and make decisions much quicker.

4. Communication

It is important to keep the lines of communication open between you and your bookkeeper. He or she should be aware of business operations, issues and goals so as to effectively do their job. The ideal candidate will be able to enhance relationships with staff, managers, customers and even suppliers.

5. Questions

The right bookkeeper for your business will ask the right questions. He or she will also be happy to share ideas when it comes to financial planning, ways of increasing your bottom line, budgeting, cash flow and a range of other cost-saving strategies that can improve business performance. With a decent understanding of your business and your financial position, a bookkeeper can help your business grow while effectively keeping costs down.

Most of important of all, a good bookkeeper will continue to train, certify and upskill. Those who are registered with boards will be required to have the necessary training, learning and qualifications in certain areas, especially when it comes to tax.

Employing the right bookkeeper for your company takes away the stress of dealing with the books yourself. He or she should be able to render your business more profitable and keep up to date with accurate financial information.

As the owner of a small business, you have lot to handle. Aside from running your business, managing inventory, and keeping customers happy, you need to stay on top of your website to make sure it looks good and provides visitors with valuable information. If you think your website is not getting enough traffic, making certain changes could improve the way the site looks and help you keep traffic flowing all day and night.

Create a Frequently Asked Questions Section

If you do not already have an FAQ section on your website, you should create one that consists of all the important questions the consumers commonly ask you before they decide to purchase something directly from the site. It is important to create the FAQ section for several reasons. It answers a lot of the questions people have so that you do not need to constantly respond to the same questions all the time, but it is also a way for you to optimize the content.

After doing some keyword research, you probably already know what keywords you should use in your site’s content. While you can add some of those keywords to blog posts and even product descriptions, you may be able to fit a few of those keywords into the questions and answers, ultimately increasing visibility of your site on search engines.

Choose a Modern and Simple Design

Some small business owners fail to realize that keeping things modern and simple is the way to go. If you are using too many colors, designs, and images all throughout your site, it is going to take much longer to load and it is going to take away from the content you are posting. If you want to keep traffic on your site for a longer period, you should choose a simple design. Small business websites with modern, crisp, and fresh designs tend to look a lot more professional to viewers.

Use Authentic Images

The use of authentic images on your site is more important than you have probably realized during the design process. While stock photos are available and are often an affordable way to add some images to a site when you do not have images of your own to upload, they are not going to resonate as well with the consumers. If you are trying to get them interested in something you sell, you need to add authentic images to your website. You should include photos that have been taken with a high-resolution camera. It is a great idea to include people in these images because consumers often become more interested in a product when they see someone else with it in a photo. Having the right images on your website will leave much more of an impact on those who happen to visit your site.

Link to Authoritative Websites

Always make sure to include a few links to authoritative websites within your content. If you are stating facts or providing statistics, you should be able to back those facts and statistics up by linking to credible sources. When you link to credible sources, website visitors feel more confident in what they are reading because they see you have backed up the stuff that you are saying rather than just providing random information that may be inaccurate. Aside from making readers trust you a bit more, it could help you improve you with your search engine optimization strategy.

If you run a small business and have a website that is not performing well, you should make some changes to improve the way it looks. Consider creating an information FAQ section, choose a modern and simple design, use authentic images you have taken, and always link to authoritative sites to improve the credibility of your content.

Setting up a new business can be a stressful experience and it is important to seek out professional advice before taking the plunge.

How you will finance your business is the most important consideration at the planning stage and banking institutions have a big role to play in this.

In addition to offering financial advice to businesses, banks also provide loans to get an idea off the ground or finance an expansion to an existing company.

They also provide businesses with a platform to make and receive payments. This makes choosing the right bank very important for businesses that want to grow and expand their operations.

Read on as we look at three key areas to consider when choosing banking services for your business.

Make sure the bank understands your needs

A bank must understand the specific needs of your business if you are to enjoy a successful relationship with each other.

Are you looking to secure a loan for your business with a view to developing a larger line of credit in the future?

Do you want a bank that offers comprehensive online services, or do you prefer to carry out important transactions in person?

Once you have the answer to these and other questions you consider to be important you can begin your bank search and analyse what each is offering against your checklist.

The online gambling industry is a great example of how a company could have specific banking needs.

For instance, the Pala Casino welcome package requires players to be able to make deposits and withdrawals online, so the operator would need to ensure its bank can support these types of payment transactions.

Compare the banking charges

Banks are in the business of making money, so it’s important to shop around to make sure you get the best possible deal for your company.

Interest charged on loans can eat into business finances and you should a lender who offers low interest rates to avoid paying more than you should.

You should also ask the penalties for defaulting on a loan so as to prepare yourself adequately should experience any cash flow difficulties.

Don’t ignore smaller banks

Many financial institutions now have an international presence, but their services can sometimes feel a little impersonal.

Larger banks usually offer favourable interests on their loans, but small banks are much more personal in nature and it is easier to establish a relationship with them.

Local banks can also be more aware of the unique economic challenges facing a particular region and are much more likely to understand your business needs.

These factors perhaps make small banks the best for businesses, especially those that are just starting out, but as your business grows you could switch to a bigger banking institution.

Hiring the best job candidate is a key aspect of having a successful SME. It is therefore essential to make use of innovative recruiting strategies that can help you locate the most appropriate candidates for available positions. There are several places to discover new talent for businesses, and exploring them can save you spending time weaving through heaps of resumes. If you’re on the hunt for the best job candidates for an SME, you can find them in these four places and invite them to a flourishing career opportunity with you.

Professional Networking Events

Attending networking events including big industry conferences remains one of the easiest ways to meet talented individuals. These events offer the opportunity to discuss with professionals in a laidback environment, and find out if they’re open to entering a new path with their career. You might meet someone who’s contented with their current job, but if you’re interested in them for your SME, you can still exchange business cards and keep in touch just in case. Contacting prospects you meet at professional networking events depends on the nature of the conversation which transpired. You can send them the job description if they expressed interest in a specific opening, or simply send links to your website if they need more information about your company in general.

Professional Communities

Professional communities provide a platform for passionate professionals to communicate and share thoughts and ideas. Such individuals may create a profile that includes a complete portfolio – professional background, works samples and so on. SMEs and other companies seeking to recruit job candidates often overlook these communities. However, they provide access to professionals who are open to engaging and talking about their skills. The main downside of recruiting from professional communities is that local candidates might be few. However, if your company is open to remote workers, this recruitment pool will likely pay off.

Job Board Database

Typically, job boards are used to connect with active candidates. But the candidates can also create accounts and provide their resumes and relevant information. Recruiting through job databases can go either way – many candidates create an account when they are actively searching for a job, then forget about it after they get a placement. So, you can end up reaching out to someone who’s happy to hear from you, or someone who has started at a new job and is unwilling to move. Nonetheless, it’s easy to recruit through a job board database, as you can contact candidates through phone or email available on the site.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is an impressive business and social media app when it comes to searching for the best job candidates. You can search using several filters including location, years of experience and past company. The “LinkedIn Recruiter” function can even let you save prospects’ profiles in specific folders, get updates about contacted individuals and also share them with other team members. It’s easy to reach out to candidates on LinkedIn, and if you reference impressive skills or experience, you can easily make a connection with them. Using a resource like this should be easy for any company to integrate into an existing social media strategy.

Companies are always on the lookout for the best job candidates. Talented professionals won’t apply to your business on their own. You’ll need to comb these places for suitable candidates to join your SME.